Mar 28, 2024  
Catalogue 2013-2014 
    
Catalogue 2013-2014 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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LALS 240 - Cultural Localities

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)


(Same as ANTH 240 ) Detailed study of the cultures of people living in a particular area of the world, including their politics, economy, worldview, religion, expressive practices, and historical transformations. Included is a critical assessment of different approaches to the study of culture. Areas covered vary from year to year and may include Europe, Africa, North America, and India.

Topic for 2013/14a: Mesoamerican Worlds. An intensive survey of the culture, history, and politics of several neighboring indigenous societies that have deep historical and social ties to territory now located in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. This course explores the emergence of powerful Mesoamerican states with a cosmology tied to warfare and human sacrifice, the reconfiguration of these societies under the twin burdens of Christianity and colonial rule, and the strategies that some of these communities adopted in order to preserve local notions of identity, and to cope with or resist incorporation into nation-states. The course also introduces students to a selection of historical and religious texts produced by indigenous authors. After a consideration of socio-religious hierarchies, and writing and calendrical systems in Precolumbian Mesoamerica, the course focuses on adaptations resulting from interaction with an evolving colonial order. The course also investigates the relations between native communities and the Mexican and Guatemalan states, and examines the representation of indigenous identities, the rapport among environmental policies, globalization, and local agricultural practices, and indigenous autonomy in the wake of the EZLN rebellion and transnational indigenous movements. Students proficient in Spanish will be encouraged to use original sources for course projects. May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed. Mr. Tavarez.

Prerequisite(s): previous coursework in Anthropology or Latin American and Latino/a Studies or permission of the instructor.



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